Robert 'Bubba' McDaniel: I'm a really big head case

Robert “Bubba” McDaniel describes himself as a head case, and it’s easy to see why.

McDaniel, a veteran of “The Ultimate Fighter 17,” was just in the middle of freaking out about his UFC 171 opponent, Tor Troeng, when he found out there was something else to freak out about.

Troeng was injured, and with the lack of time left to find a replacement opponent, it was possible he could be scratched from the card.

“I was like, ‘Oh my god, are they going to get me somebody?'” McDaniel told USA Today Sports/MMAjunkie in advance of his preliminary-card fight at the March 15 pay-per-view event, which takes place at Dallas’ American Airlines Center.

A swirl of emotions hit McDaniel (21-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC) over the next few days as he received updates on the progress of finding a replacement opponent. When the promotion found regional standout Sean Strickland (13-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), he was happy to be fighting.

But he was also a little uneasy.

“I had to go research, and what does he got? Well, he’s undefeated – crap,” McDaniel said. “Undefeated doesn’t really mean anything, but when you’re first finding out about a guy, you’re like, ‘Jesus Christ.’

“I’m a really big head case.”

Eventually, McDaniel calmed down and focused on the task at hand – preparing for the new opponent and a new set of skills to ready himself against in the cage.

Now, he’s ready to see what Strickland has to offer when they meet on the UFC Fight Pass-streamed portion of UFC 171.